Monday, 13 June 2016

Don't forget that my new website is now live, with the blog now having been transferred over to there.

You can find it here. I'd love it if you followed me over there. Things have been a little slow recently but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of regular blogging now, and I'd be so happy for you to join me! I also have a Facebook page here. All 'Likes' appreciated! :) I'm also on Twitter @Scribbler_Maxi. You can find me on Instagram under the same handle, and would love to hear from you!

Saturday, 2 January 2016

For those of you who have kindly returned here, and those of you who are new, you'll see that the blog hasn't been updated in a while. If you're a reader of this blog, you'll know that part of this was because I was madly writing for a deadline and since then, have been involved in promotion such as guest blog pieces, etc. It's left little time for my own blog - although I'm not complaining!

The other reason is that I've been moving to a new blog. This one will be left for old posts but new things are now going up on my website www.scribblermaxi.co.uk. I'd love it if you started to follow me there now, instead. I've also got an Author Facebook page here.

There aren't too many posts yet but there are some fun blog posts that were done as part of the promotion for 'Winter's Fairytale' and the online RomanceFest that took place in November, as well as a link to a playlist I compiled for the publisher to go with the new book, so feel free to pop over and have a look around.

I'm still working on it, and hope to make it a bit 'prettier' and add posts, but I'm still working out the best way of doing everything at the moment, so I'm not promising weekly updates, or anything. I know from the past that this just doesn't work for me but I will be doing my best to keep it active!

For those of you who have followed me on here, I very much appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you on the new one!

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

I'm so sorry there's been rather a gap since the last post, but I do have a fairly good reason...I won a competition - the UK Carina 'Write Christmas' one that I mentioned in a previous post! And yes, I'm still a bit stunned!

I got the call having just come round from some minor surgery, which made it all a bit surreal. I was so glad when they announced it on Twitter the following day

There was a little part of me that was wondering whether it had all just been me and the anaesthetic!

The chapters I'd sent in were from a book I'd started but had put aside to work on the SYTYCW15 entry, and hence it wasn't finished. And now it has to be finished in super quick time so I'm busy working on that pretty much all the time at the moment. It's a bit nerve wracking because, being a writer, I'm always finding something to worry about with it - but hopefully they'll like the rest of it just as much as the first chapters. I'm well aware there will be a slew of revisions but I shall just have to take that on the chin as I know that, as part of Harlequin, these people really know what they're doing.

There isn't a title for the book yet but as soon as I know, I'll pass it on!

In the meantime, we are currently in the throes of setting up a website which I'll be transferring my blog to, so when that's live I'll let you know about that too and hope that you will come and say hello to me there.

I really hope everyone else's writing is going well this summer! Now, I'm off to the depths of Christmas to carry on with the novel!

Friday, 31 July 2015

Yes, I'm still at it! There are currently a few going on with similar ending dates that really aren't that far away (one being midnight tonight!) so it's all been a little bit hectic. But I am enjoying it, in a 'Oh my gosh, I'm never going to get this done' kind of way.Well, apart from the synopsis writing times which a writing friend has termed 'Synopsis Stress' ' a very apt description.

I did get the Kobo/W H Smith Romance Writing Competition finished with a few days to spare, so I was pleased with that. This left me time (I use this term loosely) to start work on the Carina UK Christmas Competition. The due date for this is midnight tonight. No pressure. I'm pretty much done with it. I spent yesterday trying to work out the best one hundred word blurb to go along with it, and I think I'm there now. I need to go over the chapters again and just make sure I'm happy with them before packing it all off on its electronic way with lots of good wishes.

It's been an interesting experience writing 'out of season'. Although the last week or so, it's not been great weather here in the UK, so not that hard to imagine it being winter. But I wrote most of mine the previous week when it was in the high 20s, with sun beaming through the open windows. To help get in the mood, I was watching Christmas films - Love Actually, The Holiday, and Serendipity were the main ones. Mowing the lawn on a very warm summer's day whilst listening to Michael Buble's Christmas Album was also a new, and interesting, experience. It did actually all help though and I'd recommend it if you're in a similar spot. Although it did occur to me that, although I was busy trying to get my head into a snowy landscape, for half the planet, I was already experiencing the correct conditions for Christmas! An Antipodean Festive Season can be pretty toasty! But the outline of the competition did seem to suggest they wanted a 'cold' Christmas setting, which is what I've gone for. Now I just have to hope that the judges like it!

Once this is on its merry way, I'll be getting my head down on the So You Think You Can Write competition. I have a LOT to do on this as, although only a partial is submitted, if you are chosen (pick me! pick me!), the rest of the manuscript needs to be ready. Bearing in mind so far all I have is notes, I need to get scribbling!

I hope everyone else's entries are going well. I'd also be interested in how you get yourself in the mood when you have to write something that's 'out of season'. Feel free to leave a comment below with any tips!

Friday, 19 June 2015

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may remember that I took part in last month's Boot Camp (post here) which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting and fun, and good for motivation, plus I also connected with a few more romance writers whom I have kept in touch with on Twitter, so that was a really fun aspect of the day.

Last month I was lucky enough to have pretty much the whole day to myself and devote to the Boot Camp - although by the nature of it, you can dip in and out, which can be handy. This month it fell on a day when there were other things going on, so I wasn't as in depth with it, but I did still get to read all the blog posts, and most of the chats. There was one on the forum on the subject of research which I highly recommend. Reading about what other people do was both useful - and amusing!

Another fun part was the Twitter chat on 'hero and heroine inspiration' - participants tweeted pictures of actors/models whom they used as inspiration for different novels. Looking at pics of gorgeousness - what's not to like? I can certainly think of worse ways to spend time!

The whole thing is to help motivate romance writers, especially those taking part in Harlequin competitions. They also set a challenge each month in the Boot Camp - last month was to send in a first page, from which six are picked for critique on the site. This month's challenge was for a synopsis. I thought I'd have a shot at this. I didn't get picked last month but you've got to keep trying, haven't you? Because this was obviously a challenge that could take longer (is there anyone that enjoys writing a synopsis?), they opened the doors for this the previous evening. I pootled along and got a good half way through mine. It was going quite well and then, disaster! My WP programme just died. For no reason. I went to save it and it effectively told me: 'No, I don't want to.' And promptly shut down. Without saving my work. As it happened, I'd had a pretty rubbish day and the only thing that had gone well was that synopsis. And then it was just gone.

I realise I probably should have saved earlier, which I normally do and then at least I would have lost a smaller amount but still. It was pretty upsetting. By that point it was later in the evening and I didn't have time to start over again then and there. I decided to start again in the morning. Because of the time differences, I had a few hours in the morning to work on it before I needed to get it over for the challenge. However, it seemed the Writing Gods weren't in the same mood yesterday because, wow, it was hard going and it didn't sound anywhere near as good as the previous days work had. Also, with the other stuff going on yesterday, it was a bit harder to absorb into it. In the end, I decided that it just wasn't going to work if I rushed it. I actually have a couple of other WIPs, one of which the synopsis was pretty much done. I decided to tweak this, and make sure it looked ok and then sent that over.

As it was, after all the drama, mine wasn't one of the ones picked for assessment, but I was still glad that I submitted something. Just in case!

I don't know if there will be another Boot Camp next month. They did put out a survey asking what we'd like to see another time, so hopefully there will be more. They're definitely good fun and a good place to link up. May's one had a chat with Editors which was a good opportunity to ask questions that you might not otherwise get to ask, so I'm hoping they might include something like that again. I'll be posting on Twitter if I see any updates, so don't forget to follow me there.

Apart from taking part in the above, I have been really getting on with my writing, which feels great! It's been a bit nuts here because, apart from being up and down with being ill (finally got an appointment on Thursday, wish me luck!), putting in some new front garden borders and doing a bit of temp cover last week, I've been just so eager to get on and write, and read! Which is great! I think I'd lost that a little bit but it really feels like it's back at the moment, which is good.

Now all I need is an acceptance from somewhere to boost that...

Hi to everyone who took part in the Boot Camps and I look forward to carrying on our chats - writing, and non writing related, and good wishes to every writer out there. May you and your pen have a good day!

Monday, 1 June 2015

So, today I have been quite productive in that I've read a book and done part of the next assignment from The Writers' Bureau that I've had sitting around for far too long.

I was going to start on the next question too but it involves writing a short story aimed at a specific market and, right now, I have absolutely no idea of any markets for 2000 word stories. Hence, I've ground to a stand still until I can get some more information on that front - any advice would be great appreciated! Luckily the Womag blog is already on my Bloglovin Feed so I'm sure that will have useful info, as it always does, thanks to Patsy and the other fabulous writers that contribute, like Carol. I think I need a trip to the newsagents in the meantime too to start looking at a couple of the mags that I know do still accept short stories, like Peoples' Friend. To be honest, I've never been great at short stories, so this bit of the course is quite daunting, more so than writing a novel! But all I can do is try.

As mentioned in the previous post, there are a couple more competitions I have in mind to do - so far - this year, if possible, both in the Harlequin Mills and Boon realm. This is a market I've aimed at before, and had some encouragement in, but then life got in the way in a rather major way and it all got pushed aside a bit. But I have been wanting to get back to it, as I enjoy reading these fun little escapist novels, and writing them - even if I haven't got one published yet. I'm a demander of 'happy ever after' in my reading and, obviously, my own writing. My view is that there is enough bad news and depressing events in the real world so if I can read, or create, one where I know it's going to turn out ok, then that's just perfect for me. Now, of course, that doesn't mean things can't happen in the middle - they have to in order to make that happy ending all the more appreciated. So, with that in mind, this is a market I feel happy making the effort in. Taking part in the Boot Camp last week really was a good exercise in building enthusiasm so I'm now in the process of pulling out the plan of a book I made a looooong time ago and pretty much rewriting the few chapters I had already written.

As for the other competition, I'm not sure what to work on for that. I do have an idea rattling around but I need to build on that and see where I want it to go, and talk to the characters a bit more and find out who they really are. I'm not entirely sure which line to aim this one, and they have expanded a lot since I last looked into it properly years ago so I am enjoying diving back into this world and reading a bunch of books in the different lines to see which one I feel I may like to have a try at.

As a quick tip, it seems the digital editions are often a certain amount cheaper than the print versions, so that may be something to bear in mind. I'm not normally an ebook girl - even though I've got a Mark One Kindle (hubby loves technology and thought I would too as it's 'booky'...) but finally, years later, I have taken advantage of this sweet present from him and have just finished my first full novel on there. And, you know what, it wasn't a bad experience! I could even eat my cereal whilst reading without ending up wearing half of it. Bonus. This may be a turning point. Although, my, it's tempting to buy those books so quickly, isn't it?

Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey: The lost legacy of Highclere Castle - The Countess of Carnarvon

Writing Screenplays That Sell - Michael Hauge

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson

Spring Fever - Mary Kay Andrews

Since You've Been Gone - Anouska Knight

The Diary of a Provincial Lady - E M Delafield (admittedly only got about half way through this. Didn't grip me all that much and although I love period literature, detaiing drowning of healthy kittens in a pail ws enough for me)

2015

Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell

The Life and Loves of a He Devil - Graham Norton

Emma - Alexander McCall Smith

Debs at War - Anne De Courcy

The Gentle Art of Domesticity - Jane Brocket

Ghost Stories from Shimla - Minkshi Chaudhry (bought at Shimla Railway Station and read on the train back from Kalka to Delhi - perfectly atmospheric reading situation)

Children Of The Raj - Vyvyen Brendon

The Old Thing - Dawn O'Porter (accompanies tv series and a great, informative and fun read)

The Housekeepers' Tale - Tessa Boase

Packing Up - Brigid Keenan (have to admit, only read part of this. Despite enjoying her previous 'Diplomatic Baggage', this was quite a disappointment, feeling disjointed and a little hard to relate to.)

One For The Money - Janet Evanovich (after reading the latest one, I had the urge to go back and start reading from the beginning again)

Top Secret Twenty One - Janet Evanovich

Silent Witnesses - Nigel McCrery

Scandalous - Tilly Bagshawe

Bring Me Home - Alan Titchmarsh

Land of Fire - Chris Ryan

Missing You - Harlan Coben (attended a talk and signing so had to buy it!)

Live Wire - Harlan Coben

A Model Life - Muriel Rodriguez (only got a few chapters in to this and had to stop. Pretty awful. Sorry)

Confessions of a Fashionista - Angela Clarke

In Xanadu: A Quest - William Dalrymple

Flappers - Six Women of a Dangerous Generation - Judith Mackrell (I read about a third of this before having to give up. The women come across as spoiled, self centred and there is little to make you care about what happened to them. Shame as I am a fan of reading about the period)

Bryant & May and the Invisible Code - Christopher Fowler

Jasmine Nights - Julia Gregson

2014

Takedown Twenty - Janet Evanovich

The Fishing Fleet - Husband Hunting in The Raj - Anne De Courcy

Naked Heat - Richard Castle

Six Years - Harlan Coben

Crossing Over - John Edward

The Heist - Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

We Are Their Heaven: Why The Dead Never Leave Us - Allison DuBois

The Foster Husband - Pippa Wright

Heatwave - Richard Castle

Road to Rouen - Ben Hatch

The Humans - Matt Haig

The Victorian City - Everyday life in Dicken's London - Judith Flanders